Shanties and the Free State Project

Yes, it was my senior year of high school at Lebanon, I was an editor of the school newspaper, and one of the only Young Republicans on campus, when this great event [knocking down the shanties on the Green] occured. Infinitives notwithstanding, it is good to see that at least SOME Dartmouth students know their school history.

I’d have thought that the administration and faculty would have buried it in shame at their abrogation of the first amendment rights of Review staff (on a par with the violent protests faculty members engaged in back in their youth during the Vietnam War, when they were busy in academia avoiding the draft), but I wouldn’t be surprised if they brag, in the current day, about it with perversity.

Along with the announcement that the Dartmouth Democratik Republic of Hangover is being split off from the more sane towns of its NH House legislative district, there is other news in the district to talk about: the Free Town.

A group of Free State Project (www.freestateproject.org) members, after surveying the state’s towns, have declared the town of Grafton to be The Free Town, to become the target of enough Free Staters migrating into the state so as to establish a voting majority there. The hope is to make the town a test bed of libertarian theory.

Quite a number of the local residents are looking forward to having transplants come in they actually agree with. The home of Libertarian Party of NH chairman John Babiarz (who also has held several commissions under Governor Craig Benson), Grafton already has a libertarian bent: no zoning ordinance, no building inspectors, a volunteer fire department, the town is ripe for more libertarian influence. A few years ago a ballot warrant to declare Grafton a “UN

Free Zone” lost at town meeting by only 5 votes.

Being enterprising individuals, a number of us are forming development groups to build the housing necessary in Grafton to provide shelter for the coming cat herds of liberty seekers. Questions can be directed to me at mlorrey (at) yahoo.com.

I am also the Local Group Leader for the Free State Project, covering the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region. There are currently 22 known FSP members in this area. Dartmouth students are welcome to get involved.